What it means to fight – and to win. The amazing story of Niwant..

Two weeks ago, I spent a couple of hours with a remarkable group of youngsters in Pune who truly lifted my spirits. The experience was humbling and inspiring. And it reminded me – once again – how fortunate most of us are and how little we realise this fact.  These youngsters are part of the Niwant family.

“Melting the thick barricade and the wall that is built between the sighted and the people with no sight (in  just the physical sense of the term)” is the mission of Niwant.

It helps visually challenged students in pursuing higher education after the age of 18. These are mostly blind children who are discarded as unwanted by their family members and the society, as non-productive and useless.

This is the picture of one of those remarkable youngsters.  Her name is Sameena. Sameena is holding a bouquet of roses that she made herself…Tragically she is unable to see how beautiful her own creation is…She gifted me one of the roses from the bunch. This is one gift I am going to treasure for a very long time. Next to Sameena is Maithili.

Maithili read me a poem which captures the ethos of Niwant…In the picture, she is holding the braille printout of the poem that she read to me. Here is an excerpt from the poem:

I also met Vrushali – who has Masters degree in Library Science..and Nitin whose enthusiasm to learn new things was infectious…and many more.  It was  a truly moving experience. In the company of those youngsters – who had been dealt a very unfair hand in life – I felt very sad..but also energised and exhilarated. The feeling was very similar to what I had experienced almost exactly a year ago.

The youngsters at Niwant are a talented lot…Maithili is learning Japanese. Sameena performs Kathak.. Nitin is a programming whiz. They pay for their studies and tuition by selling chocolates. Yes, that’s right. I also saw their “Chocolate Factory” – all of a large refrigerator, a cupboard with ingredients and flavours…and a hardy microwave oven! They sell these chocolates to various companies and groups in Pune. If you are reading this in Pune – and your company or group wants to do something different this year, try  their chocolates (I had 3!) – or the beautiful greeting cards…or just stop by to see for yourself the remarkable transformation that is happening at Niwant – All thanks to the untiring efforts of Meera Badwe – with huge support from her husband Anand and her daughter.

And don’t forget TechVision. This is how TechVision started:

…With the help of the state-of-art technology and assistance from working professionals (volunteers) at Niwant, not only have they (the students) learnt to use the broad world of computer science but are also making a career in it. There are students who are pursuing their bachelors in computer science. In spite of being well versed with IT and programming, the Visually Challenged youth at Niwant found it difficult to seek employment. This is when we at Niwant realised that we were equipped with the knowledge and infrastructure to start our own venture.

(the) Fruit of all these efforts is the birth of Tech Vision – Software Division of Niwant. It got its first break from an American company called ‘Boardwalktech Inc. ‘

I’m going to see how I can help TechVision. In the meantime, do read more about this wonderful venture on their site…and please share this story of joy.

I salute Meera and her husband for the selfless work they are doing…but above all, I salute the youngsters at Niwant. In the two hours I spent on a lazy summer afternoon in Pune, I learnt what it means to fight – and to win. Those youngsters gave me hope – and courage – and inspired me to work harder. They are my heroes!